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When Should You Use Legal Hold vs Time-Based Retention Policies in Azure Storage?
Master Azure Blob Storage immutability for AZ-500 exam by understanding how legal holds provide indefinite data protection when retention periods are unknown. Learn the difference between legal holds and time-based retention policies for compliance scenarios.
Question
When you don’t know how long you need to retain data in a blob, you can configure a legal hold.
A. TRUE
B. FALSE
Answer
A. TRUE
Explanation
The correct answer is A. TRUE. A legal hold is specifically designed for scenarios where the retention period is unknown or indefinite, providing continuous protection until the hold is explicitly removed.
A legal hold remains in place until you release it, preventing the blob from being deleted.
Understanding Legal Holds in Azure Blob Storage
A legal hold is one of two immutability policy types available in Azure Blob Storage, designed to make data Write Once, Read Many (WORM) compliant. Unlike time-based retention policies that have a defined expiration date, legal holds provide indefinite protection without a predetermined end time.
How Legal Holds Work
- Indefinite Duration: Legal holds remain active until they are explicitly removed by an authorized user. There is no automatic expiration, making them ideal for litigation, regulatory investigations, or any scenario where the retention timeline is uncertain.
- Immediate Protection: Once applied, a legal hold immediately prevents blob deletion and modification. The data becomes immutable regardless of any existing time-based retention policies.
- Multiple Holds: You can apply multiple legal holds to the same blob or container, each with its own identifier. All holds must be removed before the blob becomes eligible for deletion.
- Granular Application: Legal holds can be applied at the container level (affecting all blobs within) or at the individual blob level for more precise control.
Legal Hold vs Time-Based Retention
The distinction between these two immutability mechanisms is crucial for exam purposes:
- Time-Based Retention: Uses a specific retention interval (e.g., 7 years) that is calculated from the blob’s creation or last modification time. The policy automatically expires when the retention period elapses.
- Legal Hold: Provides indefinite protection without a time component. It remains active until manually removed, regardless of how much time passes.
Common Use Cases for Legal Holds
- Active Litigation: When involved in legal proceedings where the duration of evidence preservation is unknown.
- Regulatory Investigations: During compliance audits or investigations where regulators may require extended data retention.
- Internal Investigations: For corporate investigations where the timeline is uncertain.
- Backup Protection: Protecting critical backups from accidental deletion during uncertain periods.
Management and Control
Legal holds can be managed through the Azure Portal, REST APIs, PowerShell, or Azure CLI. Proper RBAC permissions are required to apply or remove legal holds, ensuring that only authorized personnel can modify the immutability status of protected data. This control mechanism is essential for maintaining compliance and preventing unauthorized data manipulation.
Microsoft Certified Azure Security Engineer Associate AZ-500 certification exam assessment practice question and answer (Q&A) dump including multiple choice questions (MCQ) and objective type questions, with detail explanation and reference available free, helpful to pass the Microsoft Certified Azure Security Engineer Associate AZ-500 exam and earn Microsoft Certified Azure Security Engineer Associate AZ-500 certification.